No-neutral shift device



March 25, 1941. R. c. RUSSELL 2,236,355

NO-NEUTRAL SHIFT DEVICE Filed Jan. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.05527- 6. ,Qmsseu.

ATTORN 5 March 25, 1941. R, c RUSSELL 2,236,355

NO-NEUTRAL SHIFT DEVICE Filed Jan. 26, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 9f Z5 7a d7A TTORNEYS Patented Mar. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NO-NEUTRALSHIFT DEVICE Application January 26, 1940, Serial No. 315,798

5 Claims.

This invention relates to shift devices for shifting a gear or other.part from one position to another, and as its principal object aims toprovide an improved device of this character which is well suited forshifting the gear of a twospeed axle from one available setting toanother and which acts to urge the gear toward full engagement in one ofits available settings and prevents the gear from being left in aneutral or partially engaged position by the operator.

Another important object of my invention is to provide an improved shiftdevice for actuating the gear of a two-speed axle, or other shiftablemember, which acts to impose a load to yieldingly resist the shifting ofsuch gear by the operator until the gear has been partially engaged,thus enabling the operator to maintain a desired feel or control overthe shift and thereby prevent a sudden or jerky engagement.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an improved shiftdevice for actuating a gear or the like, and in which cooperating detentelements act to hold or urge the gear into one of its available settingsand prevent the same from remaining in an intermediate or partiallyengaged position.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved shift deviceof the character mentioned having a shifter for actuating the gear andin which one of the cooperating detent elements is a plunger arranged ina recess or chamber of the shifter and yieldingly pressed againstanother of the detent elements for urging the shifter toward, or holdingthe same in, a position corresponding with one of the gear settings.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide an improved shiftdevice, of the type referred to, in which the plunger is capable ofrocking or tilting movement during its cooperation with the other detentelements.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described andparticularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings,

Fig. 1 is a partial vertical sectional view taken through a housingmember or gear carrier and showing my shift device applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is another partial vertical sectional view illustrating my shiftdevice, but taken at substantially right-angles to the sectional view ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view similar to that of Fig. 2, butshowing the shifter in a different position;

Fig. 4 is a partial transverse sectional view taken on'line 44 of Fig. 1and showing the spring-pressed plunger in end elevation; and 5 Fig. 5 isanother partial sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 1 andillustrating a detail feature of the device.

-As above indicated, my improved shift device is well suited for use inshifting the movable gear of a two-speed axle and in the embodiment ofmy invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, I show my shiftdevice applied to this use. More detailed reference will now be made tothe drawings for the purpose of describing the embodiment of theinvention here illustrated, but before proceeding with the detaileddescription, it should be understood that my improved shifter may beapplied to various mechanisms and uses 20 other than the shifting of thegear of the twospeed axle herein mentioned.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings I show a housing member or gear carrier[0, which may form a part of a two-speed axle or some other mecha- 25nism with which my improved shifter is to be used. The member to beshifted is, in this instance, a sun gear II which is shiftable axiallyby positively actuated means to one or the other of two availablepositions or settings correspond- 0 ing with the high and low gearratios of the twospeed axle. It is often desirable, as in the case ofthe two-speed axle herein mentioned, that the gear or member to beshifted always be in full engagement in one or the other of itsavailable settings and that it be prevented from remaining in neutral orpartially engaged position, and my improved shift device, now to bedescribed, functions in a manner to accomplish this desired result andalso enables the operator to maintain a o desired feel or control overthe shift until partial engagement of the gear has been brought about.

My improved shift device includes a shifter I2 which may be in the formof a lever splined to an actuating shaft l3 which is rockably journaledin the housing member ID. This shifter lever may have 8. dependingforked portion or arm It for operative connection with the gear i I andan oppositely projecting arm 15 having an axially 5 extending chamber orrecess l6 therein. The forked arm I! may carry a pair of laterallyspaced rollers ll which engage in the annular groove l8 of a spoolportion l9 formed on or connected with the gear II. The actuating shaftll projects from the housing member ID and may have an arm or lever 20thereon with which an actuating rod or link may be connected to impartrocking movement to the shaft I3 to thereby shift the gear H from one ofits available positions to the other. The shaft i3 may be held againstaxial withdrawal from the housing member ID by the engagement of anextension 22 of the screw 23 in an annular groove 24 provided on theshaft adjacent its inner end.

The hollow arm l5 of the shifter i2 may proiect into a hollow housingsection 26 which, in this instance, is in the form of a cup-like coverconnected to the housing member ill by the screws 23 and 23a. A plunger21, located in the chamber or recess i6, serves as a detent elementwhich cooperates with other detent elements provided on the cover 26 forurging the shifter l2 toward one or the other of its positions andholding the gear H in full engagement in either of the positions towhich it has been shifted. The other detent elements referred to asbeing provided on the cover 26 may be in the form of recesses 28 and 29formed on the cover 26 so as to correspond in location with the twoavailable positions or settings of the gear ii. The recess 28corresponds with the high gear position of the gear II, in which thegear is shown in full lines of Fig. 2, and the recess 29 corresonds withthe low gear position, represented by the broken line position in whichthe forked arm H of the shifter is shown in Fig. 2. In other words, whenthe gear Ii is shifted into full engagement in its high gear position,the plunger 21 will engage in the recess 29 and when the gear is shiftedinto full engagement in its low gear position, the plunger.

will engage in the recess 29.

As mentioned above, it is desirable to prevent the shifter 12 and thegear II from remaining in an intermediate or neutral position and Itherefore provide a compression spring 30 in the chamber ii whichconstantly acts on the plunger urging the same outward toward engagementin one of the recesses 28 and 29. To this end-I also provide for arocking or tilting of the plunger 21 in the chamber l6, as will bepresently explained, and form the cooperating detent elements of suchshape as to enable the spring 39 to force the plunger 21 into one of therecesses 29 and 29 and to shift the gear Ii into full engagement in oneor the other of its positions to which it may have been partially moved.

To provide for the tilting movement of the plunger 21 just referred to,I form the plunger of a smaller cross-sectional size than the chamber Iso that when the plunger has been forced inwardly of the chamber itsouter end can tilt or rock to a relatively inclined position. as shownin Fig. 3. To facilitate this tilting of the plunger I may provide thearm IS with a pin 3i extending transversely through the chamber l6 andmay provide the inner end of the plunger with slots 32 for guiding andpivotal engagement with the pin. As shown in the drawings, the plunger21 may be hollow and the compression spring 90 may be arranged withinthe plunger with its inner end seating against the pin 3i. When theplunger 21 is forced to its outer position bythe spring 30 it isdesirable that the plunger be held substantially coaxial with thechamber l6 and for this purpose I provide a guide ring 93 in the outerend of the chamber having an opening 34 of a smaller size than thechamber and in which the plunger 21 is slidable.

For obtaining the desired cooperation between the detent elements I formthe plunger 21 with a bevelled outer end 21a of chisel-like or wedgelikeshape and form the recesses 29 and 29 of corresponding wedge-like shapewith a ridge Ii between these recesses. The ridge 35 has bevelled oroppositely inclined sides 25a. and lib which slope toward or extend intothe recesses 28 and 29, respectively. Although the housing member orcover 2! having the detent elements 28 and 29 thereon may be of anysuitable construction, I find it desirable to form this member as asheet metal stamping and to provide the recesses 29 and 29 and the ridge25 thereon by indenting the same into the bottom wall of this member.

To facilitate the lubrication of the plunger 21 in the chamber l8, andto prevent the building up of pressure therein as the plunger isoperated, I may provide the arm IS with a suitable opening 39 whichconnects the chamber [6 with the interior of the housing in which theshifter is arranged.

During the operation of my improved shift device the shaft I3 is rockedby the lever 29 to swing the shifter l2 and thereby shift the gear II toeither the high gear or low gear setting mentioned above. This swingingof the shifter i2 causes the bevelled outer end of the plunger 21 totravel up one of the inclined sides of the ridge 35, for example theside 3541 when the shifter is rocked in a clockwise direction as seen inFig. 2, and the plunger is thereby forced inwardly of the chamber l6against the action of the spring 30. As the plunger is thus forced intothe chamber l6 its bevelled end is withdrawn from the guide ring 33 andthe plunger is rocked or inclined to the left to a position such as thatillustrated in Fig. 3. If the shaft [3 is not rocked through a.sufflcient angular distance to cause the tip of the plunger 21 to rideover the point or apex of the ridge 35, the spring 30 will cause theplunger to reengage itself in the recess 28 and will swing the shifter12 back to a corresponding position thereby causing the gear ii to bemaintained in full engagement in its full-line position shown in Fig. 2.However, if the shaft I3 is rocked far enough to cause the tip of theplunger to ride over the apex of the ridge 35, the spring 30 will thenforce the plunger into the recess 29 and in so doing will swing theshifter to a corresponding position and will cause full engagement ofthe gear Ii in the setting corresponding with the broken-line positionshown in Fig. 2 for the shifter arm H. In this way my improved shiftdevice will operate to prevent the operator from shifting the gear Iiinto only partial engagement or leaving the same in a neutral posi--tion. It will be understood, ofcourse, that if the operator rocks theshaft l3 through the necessary distance to cause full engagement of thegear H in either of its settings, the plunger 21 will simply move out ofone recess and will ride over the ridge 35 into the other recess andwill thereafter serve as a holding means for retaining the gear in fullengagement in the setting to which it has been shifted.

In the functioning of my shift device, as above explained, it will beobserved that as the plunger 21 rides up one of the inclined sides 35a.and lib and thereby compresses the spring 20, a load is imposed whichyielding resists the shifting of the gear i l by the operator andenables him to maintain a desired feel or control over the shift. Theparts of my improved device are so constructedand arranged that partialengagement of the gear II will occur for both of its settings.

just before the tip of the plunger 21 rides over the apex of the ridge35. Thus during the shifting of the gear ll into partial engagementcontrol is maintained by the operator but after partial engagement hasoccurred and the tip of the plunger has passed over the ridge 35, theshifting of the gear into full engagement will be facilitated orautomatically completed by the expansive force of the spring 30.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, it willnow be readily seen that I have provided an improved shift device whichis well suited for use on a two-speed axle, but which can also be usedwith various other mechanisms. It will 'beseen also that my improvedshifter embodies a compression spring and cooperating detent elementswhich operate so as to cause the gear being shifted to always be movedinto full engagement and prevent the gear from being left in a neutralor partially engaged position.

While I have illustrated and described the improved shift device of myinvention in a more or less detailed manner, it will be understood, ofcourse, that I do not wish to be limited to the particular construction,arrangement and application herein disclosed, but regarded my inventionas including such changes, modifications and adaptations as do notinvolve a departure from the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In apparatus for shifting a movable part from one position toanother, a housing, a shifter movable in said housing and havingoperative connection with the part to be shifted, means for actuatingthe shifter to cause the desired shifting of said part, and cooperatingdetent elements on said housing and shifter for urging the latter towardone or the other of said positions, said detent elements comprising aridged portion, a hollow portion adjacent thereto and a springpressedplunger shiftable in said hollow portion and adapted to ride over theridged portion, the plunger being of smaller size than the recess ofsaid hollow portion and being rockable in the latter when shiftedinwardly thereof.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a housing, a shifter movabletherein from one position to another and having a recessed arm por..tion, positioning means on the housing adjacent which said recessed armportion is movable, said positioning means having recesses thereincorresponding with the positions to which the shifter is movable and anoppositely bevelled projection separating said recesses, and aspring-pressed plunger in said recessed arm portion and having abevelled outer end engaging said positioning means, said plunger beingof smaller size than the recess of said arm portion and being rockablein the latter recess when shifted inwardly thereof.

3. In apparatus of the character described, a housing, a shifter movabletherein from one position to another and having 'a recessed arm portion,positioning means on the housing adjaouter end of said arm portion andof a size to hold theplunger substantially coaxial of the arm portionrecess when the plunger is in an extended position.

4. In a shift device of the character described,

a pivoted shifter lever having a projecting arm provided with a recess,a housing having a hollow portion into which said arm projects, a pairof spaced shiiter-positioning recesses on said housing portion separatedby a relatively sharp-edged ridge having sides sloping toward saidspaced recesses, a plunger in the recess of said arm having a bevelledouter end adapted to ride over said ridge upon swinging of the shifter,and a spring urging the bevelled end of the plunger outward against oneof the sloping sides of said ridge to thereby cause the shifter tobemoved to a position substantially in alignment with one of saidrecesses, said plunger being of smaller size than the recessof said armand being rockable therein when shifted inwardly of the arm.

5. In a shift device of the character described, a pivoted shifter leverhaving a projecting arm provided with a recess, a housing having ahollow portion into which said arm projects, a pair of spacedshifter-positioning recesses on said housing portion separated by arelatively sharpedged ridge having sides sloping toward said spacedrecesses, a plunger in the recess of said arm and adapted to ride oversaid ridge upon swinging of the shifter, and a spring urging the plungeroutward against one of the sloping sides of said ridge to thereby causethe shifter to be moved to a position substantially in alignment withone of said recesses, said hollow housing portion being in the form of ahollow sheet metal cover having said ridge and spaced recesses indentedin the wall thereof.

ROBERT C. RUSSELL.

